The Wasteland's Demon (9)
"You! Mother! Fucking! Bastard! Do I! Look! Easy! To you! Huh?!"
Crack! Crunch!
There was no secret martial arts practiced by monks here. What Yohan witnessed was purely the ruthless violence born from the deep-seated resentment of an employee forced into overtime.
Despite being a demon, the creature pinned under Agnes's boot couldn't even put up a decent fight, taking a one-sided beating until it was reduced to a bloody pulp. Perhaps its massive size only made it more satisfying to hit. Agnes swung her mace with sheer glee, completely unbothered by the demon's blood splattering in every direction.
"Whew."
Only after confirming that the demon beneath her feet had been thoroughly minced did Agnes finally let out a satisfied sigh.
"Alright. The demon is dead. We're good now."
She turned to Yohan's group and offered a bright grin.
And here I thought she was one of the few sane people I'd met in this mad world. Nope, she's definitely a native. Yohan finally walked over to where Agnes stood. The others followed close behind.
"Ugh. That is brutal."
He had guessed as much from a distance, but up close, the demon's corpse—melted by holy water and pulverized by a mace—was a truly gruesome sight.
"Her methods are extreme, but her skills are undeniable."
Wilhelm offered a rare word of praise. Yohan and Falco looked at him in slight surprise.
"True," Yohan agreed with Wilhelm's assessment. Having faced a demon himself, he knew exactly how absurdly strong Agnes had to be to beat one to death with a metal club. Honestly, he wanted to ask her right then and there: What the hell did you eat growing up to be able to mince a demon like this without a single miracle or spell?
"It's nothing to be surprised about. This guy was just a low-level devil."
"Low-level?"
Do these bastards have ranks too? When Yohan asked, Agnes nodded silently.
"Low-level devils are monsters born from condensed fragments of negative emotions. They're different from high-level devils, which are born from collective subconsciousness on the level of religious faith. Other times, superior devils create them to serve as minions."
In other words, while the demons Yohan had faced so far were the products of corrupted faith, the low-level devil Agnes had just slaughtered was merely a clump of negative emotions that hadn't even reached the level of worship.
"So they're basically beasts without reason. They can't communicate, and they don't have the brains to tempt or manipulate humans."
This was news to Yohan. He found himself listening intently to her explanation.
"Of course, a devil is still a devil. The mere aura these bastards emit is enough to inflict severe psychological trauma on ordinary people."
Now this was something he knew. Yohan recalled the stench emitted by the skeletal demon in the Balifield Undercity, as well as the demon-influenced Troll Chief. Since he was an Apostle, he only perceived it as a foul odor, but an ordinary person would have been paralyzed by primal terror the moment they faced an otherworldly entity.
"By the way... do low-level devils wander into this town often?"
Agnes asked. Yohan and Wilhelm shook their heads at the same time.
"I've lived in this town for quite some time, and this is the first time a devil has ever attacked."
Since it came from Wilhelm, it was undoubtedly the truth. Agnes stared at him for a moment, her expression turning grave.
"There is a saying in the Inquisition: 'Anomalies are the traces of heresy.' Do you know what that means?" Agnes asked. "It means that wherever supernatural phenomena occur, the traces of heretics—be they devils or something else—are bound to remain." Agnes wiped a drop of demon blood from her cheek as she spoke.
"..."
The surrounding air instantly turned ice-cold.
"Are you implying this town is a nest of heretics?" Wilhelm growled in a low, menacing voice.
Agnes neither confirmed nor denied his question. Yohan noticed that Wilhelm was ready to draw the sword at his hip at any second.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy, old man. You're jumping to conclusions."
Yohan quickly placed a hand on Wilhelm's shoulder. Regardless of whether they were being falsely accused, clashing head-on with an Inquisitor of the Holy Kingdom would bring nothing but trouble. Yohan desperately hoped Wilhelm would remember that.
"There's no need to overinterpret things. The important fact is that this town was victimized by a suddenly appearing devil."
Fortunately, Agnes's follow-up words defused the tension, and Wilhelm withdrew his bloodlust. Watching this, Yohan and Falco let out sighs of relief they didn't realize they were holding.
"Don't act rashly, Sheriff. I'm saying this for your sake and the sake of this town, not mine."
"..."
Agnes was entirely correct. Junk Town was a place that didn't pay a single copper in taxes to the lord who nominally ruled this land. Pointing a blade at an Inquisitor, who represented the Holy Kingdom itself, would only lead to a very grim end.
"Besides, I actually quite like this town. That cheap beer I just had wasn't half bad."
For now, Agnes viewed Junk Town as the victim. At least, for the moment.
"Low-level devils are born the way I explained earlier. Therefore, there are three main reasons why this bastard might have attacked the town."
"Let's hear them."
Though his anger had subsided, Wilhelm remained wary, gesturing with his chin for her to continue.
"First, a naturally born low-level devil was wandering nearby, caught the scent of humans, and followed it."
It was similar to a starving beast raiding a human settlement. However, considering no devil had ever attacked Junk Town before, the likelihood of this being the case was extremely low.
"Second, a high-level devil summoned it and ordered it to attack."
This would require a specific devil to harbor malicious intent toward Junk Town or one of its residents. Granted, Junk Town was full of shady characters, so the possibility of someone having messed with the wrong crowd wasn't zero. But even for the desperate denizens of Junk Town, the chances of someone being crazy enough to summon a devil were slim.
"Third, it sensed something that devils instinctively loathe."
It sounded similar to the first possibility, yet it was subtly different. Yohan chewed on Agnes's words in his mind.
"Something devils instinctively loathe?" Falco, standing beside Yohan, asked.
"Yes. For example, a newly born, weak heretical god... or its apostle." Agnes said, looking directly at Yohan.
Just as ants are drawn to sweets, demons are drawn to divinity. This was a truth Yohan had already experienced firsthand. It wasn't too long ago that he had to use his bare fists to beat back a horde of undead drawn to the ruins containing the Unnamed Goddess's sacred relic.
Having contracted with the Goddess to become her Apostle, Yohan could sense evil—specifically, demonic energy. And the reverse was also true. Devils could sense the divinity residing within Yohan.
—Calm yourself. It does not seem she has noticed my presence.
Yohan did his best to keep his face blank while his mind raced. Just as the Goddess said, Agnes didn't seem to have figured out his secret. She was merely sharing the information she knew. The real issue was why the low-level devil beneath her feet had come to this town. What if this devil... had charged in because it sensed the presence of our dimwitted Goddess?
"Does anything come to mind?"
Agnes asked while Yohan was lost in thought. Yohan shrugged.
"Not really. I'm just thinking how lucky we are that you happened to be in this garbage dump of a town."
No matter how tough the residents of Junk Town were, dealing with a devil was no easy task. Even in a world of swords and magic, devils were incredibly powerful and dangerous entities. Wilhelm didn't say it out loud, but he seemed to silently agree with Yohan.
"We will have to prepare for future incursions by these low-level devils," Wilhelm murmured.
Yohan had no idea how the man planned to prepare, but coming from Wilhelm, it sounded incredibly reassuring. I guess this is why reputation matters, Yohan thought, snorting inwardly.
"Well, the devil's been dealt with, so you don't have to worry for now. Low-level devils rarely travel in packs."
"You saved us. And I apologize for my rudeness earlier." Wilhelm suddenly bowed deeply to Agnes.
"Don't worry about it. I see that kind of reaction so often in this line of work that I'm sick of it."
So she's used to being treated like this. As expected, being a Heresy Inquisitor was no walk in the park.
"Is that so?"
Wilhelm and Agnes exchanged a brief look. Watching them, Yohan let out a smug, satisfied smile.
"Also, the town would like to compensate you for this. If direct payment is uncomfortable, we can at least cover your lodging and meals during your stay."
Didn't he say something similar earlier? Yohan stroked his chin, watching Wilhelm.
"I appreciate the thought, but my expenses are fully covered by the church."
"I see. Very well."
With that, the conversation concluded. Agnes and Wilhelm nodded politely to each other. Though the process had been excessively violent, they had successfully averted a crisis that could have laid waste to the entire town.
"Well, I'm going to head back and get some rest. I'm pretty tired."
It was unfortunate for those whose homes had just collapsed, but starting the reconstruction right this second wasn't going to magically build a new house overnight anyway.
"Yeah. I was starting to feel sleepy too," Falco chimed in, agreeing with Yohan.
"I'll handle the cleanup. First, I need to check if there are any undiscovered casualties. Damage control comes after."
"Sure. Call me if you need an extra hand. I don't have much to do anyway."
"Will do."
Wilhelm and Yohan exchanged a brief exchange.
"What about you?"
Having finished his conversation with Wilhelm, Yohan turned his gaze to Agnes.
"No more overtime for me. I'm just going to clean up this devil's corpse and head back to rest..."
Agnes replied, glancing toward the direction of her lodging.
"Goddammit."
A curse filled with deep, heartfelt rage escaped her lips. Yohan looked to see what was wrong, only to find that the inn where Agnes was presumably staying had collapsed in the chaos.
"..."
An awkward silence descended upon the area. Even Wilhelm looked away, clearing his throat awkwardly.
"About what you said earlier..." Agnes mumbled in a barely audible voice.
"Right. I'll arrange another lodging for you immediately."
"...Thanks."